adams



Sept. 17, 1957 Filed March 4, 1954 G. T. ADAMS LIQUID FUEL BURNERS 2 Sheets-Sheet l y Bil/L09 Jam/En.

14mm dd mw Sept. 17, 1957 G. T. ADAMS LIQUID FUEL BURNERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 4, 1954 United States Patent LIQUID FUEL BURNERS Geoifrey Turner Adams, Southampton, England, assignor to .lohn I. Thornycroft & Co. Limited, London, England, a British company Application March 4, 1954, Serial No. 414,112 Claims priority, application Great Britain March 27, 13153 4 Claims. (Cl. 15873) This invention relates to liquid fuel burners for use in connection with boiler furnaces for steamships and also other furnace installations in which it is necessary or desirable to provide effective safeguards to prevent loss of fuel and consequent risk of fire when maintenance requirements, involving the removal and replacement of burners, are carried out by inexperienced or careless personnel.

In liquid fuel burner installations there may be one or more furnaces each provided with one or more burners, all the burners receiving liquid fuel under pressure from a common source of supply usually including a manifold and control chest from which pipes lead to individual burners through some form of coupling between the burner and its carriage or holder. In order that an individual burner may be removed for cleaning, adjusting, or other maintenance requirement, cocks, valves, or other suitable closures are provided in the pipe lines so that before an individual burner is removed from its carriage or holder, the fuel supply thereto may be cut ofi. There is the danger, however, that operation of the respective valve to cut off the fuel supply to the burner to be removed may be neglected and loss of fuel through the coupling, accompanied by danger of fire, will result.

The term valve used hereinafter means a shut-oft cock, valve, or other suitable closure movable between open and shut positions by limited angular movement of an operating member, such as a handle or lever.

It is known to provide a shut-01f valve, such as a cock, in association with the burner carriage or holder and to provide an operating handle for the valve arranged so that clamping means for fixing the burner body in position cannot be manipulated until the handle is in the shutofi position. Such an arrangement, however, does not provide full and adequate security against loss of fuel and danger of fire as it is still possible for the valve to be inadvertently opened while the burner is absent from its normal position in its carriage or holder, or is not clamped up to make a secure joint at the coupling.

The present invention has for its object to provide an improved liquid fuel burner assembly whereby it may be ensured that not only are the operations requisite for removal and replacement of a burner performed in correct sequence, but that the fuel supply to the burner cannot be turned on while the burner is absent from its position in the carriage or holder, or until the burner is againclamped in position to re-establish the joint at the coupling.

According to the invention, there is provided, in a liquid fuel burner assembly comprising a carriage or holder including a fuel duct controlled by a shut-off valve and means for removably mounting a burner body in the carriage or holder to coact with coupling means for establishing communication between the fuel duct and the burner, the combination of means adapted to prevent disengagement of the burner from the coupling means except when the said valve is closed, and means adapted to prevent opening of the said valve when the burner is disengaged from said coupling means.

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The means adapted to prevent disengagement of the burner from the coupling means except when the shutoff valve is closed may be of known form comprising a valve operating member, such as a handle, having a part arranged to prevent positioning of an operating element, such as a key, for manipulating a clamping screw on the mounting means to permit disengagement of the burner body from the coupling means.

The means for preventing opening of the said shut-off valve when the burner is disengaged from the coupling means may comprise a locking device which, when the burner is disengaged from said coupling means, is moved to lock the valve in the shut-off position and, when the burner body is again moved into engagement with the said coupling means, is retracted to unlock the valve. Thus the locked condition of the valve is maintained while the burner is absent from its carriage or holder and until the joint at the coupling means is re-established. Conveniently, the locking device may comprise a plunger adapted to co-operate with a projection or ward on the burner body, the arrangement being such that when the burner body is displaced laterally away from said coupling means, the locking plunger is projected, either positively by coaction of the projection or ward on the burner body with an abutment on the plunger, and/ or by spring or other means, so as to lock the valve operating member in the shut-off position, while, when the burner body is replaced, the locking plunger is retracted by engagement of the projection or ward on the burner body with an abutment on the plunger, whereby the locking plunger disengages from the valve operating member when the burner body is again clamped up in position.

More specifically, the invention includes a liquid fuel burner assembly comprising a carriage or holder incorporating a fuel duct communicating with a coupling element positioned in a housing for the burner body, screw clamping means disposed opposite said coupling element for pressing a seating in the burner body into engagement with the coupling element, said screw clamping means having a projecting operating spindle provided with a part of square or other section for engagement by an operating element, such as a key, a shut-off valve in said duct, an operating handle for said valve, said operating handle being adapted to prevent positioning of said operating key in engagement with the part of the spindle of square or other section, except when the said handle is moved to the shut-off position, a locking plunger slidably mounted in the carriage or holder on an axis parallel to the common axis of the coupling element and the screw clamping means, and means on the burner body adapted to coact with the locking plunger in such manner that when the burner body is displaced from the coupling element, the plunger is projected towards the said handle to lock the same in the shut-off position While, when the burner bodyvention, the parts being shown in the position occupied. when the burner body is in position and the fuel supply.

to the burner is on; and

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the position of the parts when the fuel supply is turned off and the burner body is unclamped for removal from its holder.

In carrying the invention into effect according to a particular embodiment, a liquid fuel burner is carried in a holder 1 comprising a. lower part 2 housing a horizon tally disposed plug cock 3 having a bore 3a therein controlling avertically extending fuel duct 4 in one side of the carriage or holder, said plug cock 3 having a spindle 5 which projects at the opposite side of the carriage or holder 1 for the mounting of an operating handle 6. The lower partZ-ofthe carriage or holder 1 also isformed with a horizontal 'bore 7 at a somewhat higher level housing a-slidably locking plunger 3 which is reduced in diameter at a substantially middle position "to provide spaced shoulders or abutments 9, 10, a spring 11 preferably being arranged to press the plunger '8 towards the operating handle 6. The upper part of the carriage or holder 1 is apertured at 25 to provide a housing for the reception of a burner body 12. A coupling element 13 having a ball or spherical contact face 14 with an aperture 14a communicating with the fuel duct 4 projects from one side of the housing, and a clamping screw 15 is positioned opposite to the coupling element 13, the clamping screw and coupling element being on a common axis parallel to the axis of the locking plunger 8. The burner body 12 has a coned seating adapted to cooperate with the contact face 14 of the coupling element 13 and the clamping screw 15 engages a fiat portion on the opposite side of the burner body for pressing the contact surfaces of the coupling into engagement. The clamping screw 15 is provided with a projecting spindle portion 16 including a part 17 of square cross-section engageable by means of an operating key element 18, such as a doublear-med turning handle, and may have an outer portion having a retaining head or the like at its extremity on which portion the said key is freely rotatable when Withdrawn from the part 17 of square cross-section. The valve operating handle 6 is in the form of a lever having on the opposite side of its pivot an enlarged integral sector-shaped part 19 adapted to prevent the said key element 18 from being engaged with the part 17 of the screw 15 of square cross-section. A portion of the sector-shaped part 19 of the handle 6, which normally is in the path of the boss 21 of the key element 18, is cut away at so that when the handle 6 is in the shut-off position (Fig. 2) the key element 18 can be slid along the outer portion 16 of the spindle to engage the part 17 of square cross-section and so enable the screw 15 to be slacked back to release the burner body 12.

The burner body 12 at its underside is provided with a. projection 22 in the form of a ward which projects into the reduced part of the locking plunger between the spaced shoulders or abutments 9, 10. As the burner body 12 is moved away from the coupling element 13, the locking plunger 8 normally held in the retracted position (shown in Fig. l) by the projection or ward 22 on the burner body 12, is moved axially, either positively by the engagement of the projection or ward on the burner body with the shoulder or abutment 19 of the plunger 8 or by the action of the said spring 11, so that the end 23 of the plunger 8 engages a recess 24 in the handle 6 which recess 24 is only in line with the plunger 8 when the handle 6 is positioned to close the cock 3. Thus, the handle 6 cannot be moved to the open position until the locking plunger 8 is again withdrawn by the coaction of the projection or ward 22 on the burner body 12 with the respective shoulder or abutment 9 of the plunger 8 as the burner body 12 is pressed back into engagement with the coupling element 13 by the clamping screw 15.

When it is desired to remove the burner body 12 from the holder 1, the fuel supply is first shut off by turning the handle 6 from the position shown in Fig. 1 through 90 so as to close the cock 3. In the position of the handle 6 shown in Fig. 2, the cut away part 20 of the enlarged part 19 of the handle 6 is positioned so as to permit of the key element 18 being engaged with the square portion 17 on the spindle of the screw 15 whereby the screw may be slacked back to release the burner body 12. At the same time, the recess 24 in the enlarged portion 19 of the handle 6 is positioned in line with the plunger Swhich, as the screw 15 is slacked back, is permitted by the lateral movement of the burner body 12 to move axially under the influence of the spring 11 so that the end 23 of the plunger 8 is engaged in the recess 24, thus locking the handle 6 in the off position. The cock 3 cannot be opened until the burner body 12 has been re-inserted and pressed back by the screw 15 into engagement with the coupling element 13, during which movement of the burner body the projection 22 on the burner body 12 coacts with the abutment 9 to press the plunger 3 back against the influence of the spring 11 so as to retract the end 23 of the plunger 8 from the recess 24 in the handle 6, the arrangement being such that the handle 6 is only released for turning the cock 3 to the open position when the burner body 12 is pressed firmly into engagement with the contact face 14 of the coupling element 13.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment hereinbefore described and that the mounting means for the burner may be otherwise constructed, and any other suitable arrangement of correlated parts may be employed for ensuring that the fuel supply to the coupling is cut off before the burner body is disengaged therefrom and to ensure that the fuel supply cannot be turned on while the burner body is disengaged from the coupling. For example, the sectorshaped part of the valve operating handle may be extended and provided with an arcuate slot through which the clamping screw extends, the slot terminating at one end, corresponding to the shut-off position, in an aperture of suitable size to accommodate the key element to permit its application on to the part of the spindle of square cross-section.

What I claim is:

l. A liquid fuel burner assembly comprising a holder, a fuel duct operatively associated with said holder, a coupling element communicating with said fuel duct, a burner body laterally movable with respect to said coupling element, screw clamping means disposed opposite said coupling element for pressing a seating in the burner body into engagement with said coupling element, said screw clamping means having a projecting operating spindle provided with an end part for engagement by an operating element, a shut-off valve in said fuel duct, an operating handle for said shut-off valve, said operating handle being adapted to prevent positioning of said operating element in engagement with said end part of said spindle except when the said handle is moved to the shut-off position, a locking plunger slidably mounted in said holder on an axis parallel to the common axis of the coupling element and the screw clamping means, and means on said burner body adapted to coact with said locking plunger whereby when the burner body is displaced laterally away from said coupling element, the plunger is projected towards the said handle to lock the same in the shut-off position while, when the burner body is pressed into engagement with the coupling element, the plunger is retracted out of engagement with the said handle.

2. A liquid fuel burner assembly comprising a holder, a fuel duct in said holder, a shut-off valve in said fuel duct, a coupling element connected to said fuel duct, a burner body removably mounted in said holder, clamping means for pressing said burner body laterally into engagement with said coupling element to establish communication between said fuel duct and said burner body, operating means for said shut-off valve, said operating means being so arranged with said clamping means that manipulation of said clamping means is prevented when said operating means is in the position to open the shutoff valve, locking means in said holder operatively controlled by said burner body independently of said clamping means for preventing opening of said shut-off valve when said burner body is disengaged from said coupling element, said locking means comprising a locking device operable on lateral movement of said burner body away from said coupling element to engage and lock said valve operating member in the valve shut-01f position and on lateral movement of said burner body into engagement with the said coupling element to disengage said valve operating member.

3. A liquid fuel burner assembly comprising a holder, a fuel duct in said holder, a shut-oflf valve in said fuel duct, a coupling element connected to said fuel duct, a burner body removably mounted in said holder, a projection on said burner body, clamping means for pressing said burner body laterally into engagement with said coupling element to establish communication between said fuel duct and said burner body, operating means for said shut-off valve, said operating means being so arranged with said clamping means that manipulation of said clamping means is prevented when said operating means is in the position to open the shut-0E valve, locking means in said holder operatively controlled by said burner body for preventing opening of said shut-ofi valve when said burner body is disengaged from said coupling element, said locking means comprising a plunger operatively connected with said projection on the burner body whereby when the burner body is displaced later ally away from said coupling element, the locking plunger is projected into locking engagement with the valve operating means in the shut-off position, while when the burner body is displaced laterally into engagement with said coupling element the locking plunger disengages from said valve operating means.

4. A liquid fuel burner assembly according to claim 3 wherein said locking means further includes spring means operatively connected to said locking plunger for moving the same into locking engagement with the valve opera-ting means.

Great Britain July 24, 1925 Great Britain Mar. 5, 1948 

